The Drive
by Knight in Writing Armor
Summary: Branson hates the word "flattered."


**So this is my second fanfic, and this one is from Branson's point of view, after he tells Sybil how her feels about her. Hope you enjoy! :)**

The Drive

_Flattered_. Tom Branson had never hated a word more than when he was driving back from dropping Sybil off at the hospital. The word spun around his head, mocking him, telling him that he wasn't good enough for her. He was too poor, to far below her, as he had always known. But his besotted heart would not listen to his reasoning. It continued loving Lady Sybil even after she had told him she was _flattered_.

He drove more slowly than he normally would have done on the way back, he needed the time to think. He would have done anything, absolutely anything to make her happy, why didn't she see it? He would have worked as nothing more than a laborer to make sure that she was happy. He would have thrown himself in front of a bullet, train, motor, whatever. He would die for her. Even though his mind told him that it was no use, that she was too high up for him. He knew no matter how much he tried to push her out of his mind, he would always love her.

_You're a fool Tom Branson_, he said to himself. A fool perhaps, but now there was nothing to be done. He half wanted to hand in his notice anyway, to go back to Ireland, to help some mindless revolution that was there. He half never wanted to see her again, but half knew that he couldn't stay away. He would always have to find a way back to her. One way or another, he would stay close to her.

Another part of him was telling him to turn around, to go right back to the hospital and get down on his sorry knees and beg for her. He almost listened to that mad part of himself, but he knew that it would be no use now. He had said what he had meant to say, and she would have plenty of time to think over it until they saw each other again. Would she think about it at all? Would she think about him at all? He knew he would think about her every minute of every day.

He thought back to the letter his mother had written him about Sybil when he finally broke down and told her everything.

_Thomas, you know you'll do what's best, that's the way your father and I raised you. I will not say that I approve of you going after the daughter of your employer. Just remember Tom, don't do anything foolish, my boy. This job is a good thing, and don't you throw it away for someone that you probably can never have. Think before you act, Tom._

The words were comforting, but they also made him angry. Even his own mother thought that she was too high up for him. The world was changing! He would do something great! Their kind wouldn't always be in power, he knew it. They wouldn't always be able to tell him that they were _flattered_. There it was, that word again. The damn word that crushed all of his hopes in one fell swoop. He supposed he should be happy she didn't want him to hand in his notice. Did that mean she did love him, and was too afraid the change? But change was the lifeblood of the world! If the world didn't change, he would be stuck as a chauffeur forever, and she would always remain _flattered_. It used to be enough when he could simply make her smile, or hear her laugh, but Gwen had told him something before she left, and those words had stayed with him ever since, and they had pushed him to take the drastic leap of telling her how he felt.

_They were standing by the train station, waiting for her train to arrive. She was visibly excited about the idea of leaving service, of becoming someone other than a housemaid. The train slowly pulled up, and she gave him a hug,_

"_Tell Lady Sybil I thank her for everything."_

_There was that name again, the name that sent shivers down his spine every time he heard it. Some of his emotion must have shown on his face, because Gwen looked at him, and then took one of his hands and said,_

"_The world is changing Tom, and Lady Sybil is going to be one of the first to change with it. You need to tell her how you feel, otherwise she'll never know."_

_He opened his mouth to say something, but she merely gave his hand another squeeze and boarded the train to her new life. _

Tom sighed deeply, and tried to concentrate on nothing but the road in front of him. He had hoped Gwen was right, and maybe she was, but maybe he was too much of a change for her to bear. He knew her family would disown her, but not forever, and he would have done anything, been anything to make her happy. She had always believed in him, and maybe she would come around. He knew he would wait. He would wait for her forever because there was no one else like her in the world.

He passed through the village next to Downton, and thought of all the times he had driven her through there, on the way to some event or another, and how he had had to force himself to keep his eyes on the road, and not on her. Even then his heart was pining for her. It would never stop pining for her. If she refused him, and sent him away, he knew that he would go back to Ireland, but never find happiness with another woman, because she was all that mattered.

He pulled through the village and up the drive, looking at the massive, magnificent estate before him, and as he looked at it, he thought, _Who would want to leave here? Who would want to abandon such a life for a chauffeur?_

But then he thought, _Lady Sybil would._

He resolved himself to never give up on her. He would fight for her to the end. No matter how much heartache it caused him, he knew she was worth it.

_Bet on me, Lady Sybil_, he thought as he pulled into the garage.

**Please review!**


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